Review: Liz Callaway Makes Magic With THE WIZARD AND I at 54 Below

Liz Callaway is back at 54 Below this week with a brand new show centered around her long friendship with Stephen Schwartz.  The musical cabaret THE WIZARD AND I has a subtitle to inform those not in the know - Liz Callaway SINGS Stephen Schwartz - and although there may be those who attend the offering without knowing the play Wicked or that the song The Wizard And I is from Wicked, even without that information, The Wizard and I could simply refer to Schwartz and Callaway, themselves.  Mr. Schwartz is, after all, a wizard in his own right.  He is the genius who gave us Godspell and Pippin (along with the aforementioned Wicked) and the pure poetry of “Colors of The Wind,” not to mention the super-popular Enchanted films, and scads of other beloved compositions that singers crave to sing, and music lovers long to hear.  But to hear those songs interpreted by Liz Callaway is to take things to a whole new level.  The possessor of one of the most distinctive voices in the industry, Ms. Callaway has taken that voice and her talents for acting and storytelling and built an industry for herself and a following for her art that any performer would dream of.  At last night’s premiere performance of The Wizard and I, there were members of the sold-out nightclub who were so excited that they sang along, and one woman who, upon realizing that La Liz was about to sing her favorite song, vaulted from her chair and jumped up and down a few times.  The love of Liz flowed freely throughout Broadway’s Living Room as the Emmy winner presented her usual high quality of entertainment, plus a little bit more.

Any and every Liz Callaway show is a must-see.  Indeed, any person wishing to do this kind of work must see Liz in action because she is The Expert.  With every show that she does, Liz places front and center a blueprint of how to craft a concert, how to build a cabaret, and how to tell the stories.  Like some sensei of song, Liz Callaway is a walking illustration of the craft of musical storytelling, demonstrating the structure of script, the relationship with the audience, the commitment to the storytelling, the importance of individuality, and the power of passion.  That last one is highly valuable, for Liz Callaway is always at her best when sharing someone she loves.  There are cabarets and there are cabarets, and when Liz is with her Best Friend, sister Ann Hampton Callaway, there’s another layer to the show.  When Liz presented her tribute to her friend Stephen Sondheim, there was an added dimension to the evening.  When Liz sings with her son, Nicholas Foster, there was even more emotion on the stage.  So when Liz sang her encore last night (sorry, no spoilers, but trust me, it’s amazing), she did so with tears poised along the bottom rim of her eye.  The love of Liz permeates the air of the Schwartz show, bringing the audience into the story of their friendship, but also deepening her connection to the lyrics, to the compositions created by her friend.  Friend is such an important word, and friendship is a strong ballast upon which to weight your show.  That’s The Wizard and I, all over the place.

And on the subject of friendship and ballast, Liz could not do what she does (in this or any other show) without the four men who lift her up and support her - director Dan Foster (who is the subject of some great stories in this production, since he is her husband and a fellow friend of Schwartz), drummer Ron Tierno, Bassist Ritt Henn, and Maestro Alex Rybeck, Callaway’s longtime Musical Director, whose arrangements for the show are spectacular, particularly on “Cold Enough To Snow” (a wonderful song that many people do not know and do not sing, but that more should) and an epic medley near the end of the play that, if one listens closely and also knows the Schwartz catalogue, one can hear just how much work Rybeck put into it.  The Callaway Five have done it again - they have created a masterpiece of cabaret and concert.

Now, I have not, as yet, referred to the musical aspect of the evening.  That is because there is little to say that hasn’t been said before because Liz Callaway is one of the greats.  To sit in a room and listen to this once in a lifetime voice is a privilege, and to sit in a room and watch the emotions with which she interprets the compositions is a thrill.  That’s all a given, and there’s no discussion to be had about it.  But on this specific occasion, it can be said that (and I’m being stingy with song titles for the benefit of future audiences) in an evening of highlights, the standouts for this writer were a mashup of the Pippin Finale and “With You” from the same show, and one of two Stephen Schwartz songs that have become Liz Callaway cornerstones, “Beautiful City” (bring along a hankie), and, on a personal note, it was a treat for this Schwartz devotee to hear Liz Callaway sing one of my all-time favorite lyrics in musical theater: “Blithe smile, lithe limb, she who’s winsome, she wins him” (I mean, come on, now!).  The unquestionable emotional wallop of the evening, though, is born of Liz, herself.  Callaway (who aces every single story she tells) recounts the tale of the time she and Stephen collaborated on a song, together, and then she sings that song.  Last night was the first time Liz has sung “Fearless” in America, and it could not have gone over better, and the background behind the piece is the lynchpin to the resounding success of the song.  Had Callaway simply sung the song, it would have gone over well, but knowing the story behind the creation of the composition, being brought into the emotional history, doubles down on the ability to appreciate the artistry being born.  It is a powerful and moving part of the Callaway/Schwartz show, alone worth the price of admission.  But, on a lighter note, so was the chance to hear Liz sing her solo from Godspell, which she, last, performed in New York at the beginning of the Eighties.  Spoiler alert: she’s still got the terrifying high note.  Which song from Godspell, you ask?  No, no.  Not here.  At 54 Below.  Get a ticket to one of the remaining shows HERE - it plays the 15th, 16th, and 17th, and there’s a livestream on the 17th (ticket link HERE) .  Don’t take my word for it - see the show and make up your own mind, for yourself, and for good.

Liz Callaway has a website HERE.

The homepage for 54 Below is HERE.

Stephen Schwartz has a website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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